Should organ sales be legal? Illegal organ harvesting and organ sales is a rapidly growing problem everywhere. This is due to the fact that with the growing population, their isn’t enough organs to go around as well as a the systems we live in. In the black market, and other underground platforms/economies, many people are offered something; money, passports, fake documentation, in return of an organ. Other times, It could be a person without medical care, desperately looking for an organ.

Kant says, “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end, and never as a means only.” From a Kantian utilitarian stance, selling your organs would be as a means, and essentially suicide. Once you put a price on a human, you’re putting a price tag on humanity, and, you would be objectifying and exploiting the human life. One person would gain much more than the other, and the other would loose their dignity and be dehumanized to a price instead of a life. He continues, saying that their are three goals, or goods, we should aim at. Those are the preservation of life, the preservation of the species, and the preservation of capacities. Therefore, in a Kantian perspective, selling ones organs is mere suicide, and is a direct violation of the preservation of life, and, is fundamentally self destructive.

The idea of organ sales ever being legal is quite hard to grasp for me. It’s a very complex topic, and every situation is different. Though, I understand Kant’s perspective, I think organ sales should be legal because there will never be enough organs for everyone, but by making it legal, it could possibly benefit both the people involved. If one person may need money and they are able to sell, they are essentially saving a life and benefiting themselves. Though, I think the legalization would be flawed. Just like healthcare, and many other institutions, organ sales would turn into a monopoly, a literal business, and this can potentially cause more harm than good. There is bad and evil within every government run organization, institute and business, and there will always be people who abuse the system. In my eyes, the legalization would be built for the poor who can’t necessarily pay for a transplant, or healthcare. But, the rich will interfere. Due to this, as much as I think it makes sense to legalize organ sales, realistically, I don’t think it would not work in our society.

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